Broncos beat Chargers on Brandon McManus’ field goal as time expires By Ryan O’Halloran Denver Post Nov. 19, 2018 Out of timeouts, running out of time (1:51 remaining) and way out of field goal range (their 8-yard line), the Broncos felt confident about rallying against the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite the awful field position. Despite leaning on an offensive line with new starters at three positions. And, most importantly, despite their misfortune in close games. But as long as a team has time, it has hope. Quarterback Case Keenum completed passes of 38 and 30 yards to receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton, respectively, the second play ending with 12 seconds remaining. The Broncos rushed downfield and Keenum spiked the football with three seconds left, allowing Brandon McManus to connect on a 34-yard field goal as time expired for a thrilling 23-22 win over the previously-surging Chargers. At 4-6 and with only two wins in their last eight games, the Broncos are far from doing anything special. But by starting the post-bye portion of their schedule with a win, it makes the next game (Sunday vs. Pittsburgh) a tad more interesting. “It’s fun to win,” coach Vance Joseph said. “We expect to win. I don’t think the guys in the locker room are really surprised.” Credit the Broncos: They have showed a resolve when some NFL teams would have already started counting down to locker room clean-out day. To Joseph’s point, the Broncos are expected to play hard. To counter Joseph’s point, few expected them to play well … much less win. But their want-to was rewarded multiple times against the Chargers (7-3). The Broncos fell behind 6-0, but used a fake punt to set a go-ahead score. They received a regular season interception from Von Miller for the first time in six years to help re-take the lead (20-19) with 12:17 remaining. And they made a rare third down stop to force the Chargers to punt after the two- minute warning. Cue the madness. Keenum five yards to tight end Jeff Heuerman started the drive. As the clock hit 1:20 remaining, Keenum looked right before returning to his left and throwing a dart to Sanders, who broke a tackle to gain 26 yards post-catch, down to the Chargers’ 49. And then adversity. Keenum threw four yards to running back Devontae Booker and followed with a completion to Tim Patrick that was negated by his 10-yard offensive pass interference penalty but also stopped the clock (37 seconds remaining). The Broncos were back at their 45-yard line. Keenum threw nine yards to tight end Matt LaCosse. Twelve seconds elapsed from the end of that play to the next play. Lined up wide left, Sutton ran up-and-in route and caught Keenum’s pass 16 yards downfield. He then gained an additional 14 to the Chargers’ 16. Twelve seconds remained when Sutton was tackled. The Broncos hustled up to the line and Keenum spiked the ball with three seconds remaining. “We knew at that point how much time we needed when you snap the ball, complete a ball and then get down there and spike it,” Keenum said. “We had just enough time. It was a great operation by everybody.” Instantly after Keenum’s spike, Sutton and Sanders looked to the sidelines, jumped high and pumped their fists. Their job was done. “It’s one of those situations we practice a lot,” Sutton said of getting lined up quickly and correctly. McManus, two weeks after misfiring on a kick that would have beaten Houston, made this boot. “It’s pretty indescribable,” Keenum said of his post-field goal emotions. “I tell people it’s a high you can’t buy.” Keenum did not throw a touchdown, but he played interception-free for the second consecutive game and the Broncos put him on the move via designed rollouts to get away from the Chargers’ pass rush. “We talked about it all week:‘Whatever it takes, it doesn’t matter what has happened,’ ” Keenum said. “Our goal this week was 1-0 and we were going to do whatever it took to get there.” Sure, winning against Oakland in Week 2 while leading a final-minute drive was cool, but a division road win in this fashion can be a defining moment for a quarterback. It is unlikely to be a fuel-a-run-to-the- playoffs moment, but winning a close one for a change is better than the losses to the Chiefs (twice), Rams and Texans. “We’ve obviously been in four or five of these types of games and didn’t make enough plays to win,” Joseph said. “We made plays. That was the difference.” Broncos kicker Brandon McManus makes anti-bullying his cause By Jim Buzinski Outsports October 12, 2017 This week, the 0-5 New York Giants travel to Denver to 3-1 Broncos. Here are the LGBT angles for the game this week. The off-field cause of Broncos kicker Brandon McManus is bullying prevention. His Anti-Bully Squad aims to raise awareness about bullying and help prevent it in schools. "In the gay community there is a lot of sense of people being bullied because they're different,” McManus told me at Super Bowl L in February 2016. “One of the biggest things we're trying to prevent is people committing suicide. For these younger kids, they're too afraid to talk to their parents, they feel embarrassed. We're trying to give an avenue for anyone who wants to speak up to help save lives." McManus has befriended a boy with Down Syndrome who had been bullied. He even showed up at the boy’s house and played football with him in the street. Said the boy’s mom: “Brandon volunteered to come over and show his support for Ryder and play football in front of the neighbor to show him that if no one else cared, the Broncos did." Giants co-owner Steve Tisch has been a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage. In 2011, when a battle was raging in New York state over legalizing same-sex marriage, Tisch made his support public in a video. Roy Simmons was an offensive lineman for the Giants and Washington from 1979-83 and the second former NFL player to come out publicly as gay. Simmons, who was HIV-positive, died at age 57 in 2014. Simmons came out on national TV on the “Phil Donahue Show” in 1992, joining Dave Kopay as an openly gay former player. In an interview with the New York Times in 2003, Simmons told why he stayed in the closet ''The N.F.L. has a reputation,'' he said, ''and it's not even a verbal thing — it's just known. You are gladiators; you are male; you kick butt.'' Outsports prediction for the game: Broncos 27, Giants 7. The Giants are a mess, with their best receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., out for the year and two other starting receivers out. This is not good going up against one of the league’s best defense, one that plays at an even higher level at home. In addition, the Giants have benched one of their best defensive backs, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, after he argued with his coach. The Giants will provide more excitement off the field in this game and Denver wins easily. Broncos get extension with Brandon McManus By Jeff Legwold ESPN September 11, 2017 Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus' teammates showed what they thought of him this past week when they voted him a team captain and the Broncos' decision-makers showed him Monday with a new contract. The deal, which is for four years, puts a three-year, $11.254 million extension on the end of a one-year deal he had in place. The deal includes $6 million in full guarantees with the an additional $2.25 million in bonuses, according to sources. The total guarantee in McManus' deal is $8.25 million, making him the fourth-highest-paid kicker in the NFL. John Elway, the Broncos' president of football operations/general manager, broke the news via his Twitter account: The deal came just hours before the Broncos open the season against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sports Authority Field at Mile High. McManus had expressed hope in recent days the new deal would soon be a reality. "I think obviously you're always looking forward to the guarantees and that security,'' McManus said. "That's my position that I do and if you do miss a couple of kicks you're going to be in trouble. Obviously we'll see what happens. I'm excited the season's here.'' McManus, who was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in March, had signed a one-year $2.746 million tender as a restricted free agent just before training camp had opened. He had attended the team's offseason program, including the mandatory minicamp, as his agent Drew Rosenhaus and the Broncos had tried to work out a long-term deal. McManus, 26, made $600,000 last season. McManus had already achieved a goal for his season last week when his teammates voted him as the special teams captain. "It's a testament to Brandon's leadership, to his personality and all the qualities that he brings to this team,'' special teams coordinator Brock Olivo said Saturday. "Not only as our kicker, but as our go-to-guy when we need a big one, he's a guy who has a strong character presence.